That most shameless of directors Douglas Sirk stops at nothing to wring tears from your eyes in this candy-coloured weepy.
Actually, true to form, he manages to deliver a film that's both hopelessly dated and trailblazing at the same time. Here he takes on racial prejudice, told through a story about a young black woman who passes for white, even to the extent of denying dear ol' ma, only to realize how selfish she's been when dear ol' ma (of course) kicks the bucket in the film's final moments. This is given the 1950s glossy soap opera treatment, as is the film's other central story, in which Lana Turner gets it on with the cleft-chinned and stiff-backed John Gavin (whose hair is so Brill Cremed that it's actually BLUE).
As he did with "All That Heaven Allows," Sirk manages to play up to his audience at the same time that he's lecturing them. Unlike now, when those who most need to see a movie about racial tolerance wouldn't go near one, Sirk's audiences were precisely those whose viewpoints he was trying to influence.
Grade: B+
Actually, true to form, he manages to deliver a film that's both hopelessly dated and trailblazing at the same time. Here he takes on racial prejudice, told through a story about a young black woman who passes for white, even to the extent of denying dear ol' ma, only to realize how selfish she's been when dear ol' ma (of course) kicks the bucket in the film's final moments. This is given the 1950s glossy soap opera treatment, as is the film's other central story, in which Lana Turner gets it on with the cleft-chinned and stiff-backed John Gavin (whose hair is so Brill Cremed that it's actually BLUE).
As he did with "All That Heaven Allows," Sirk manages to play up to his audience at the same time that he's lecturing them. Unlike now, when those who most need to see a movie about racial tolerance wouldn't go near one, Sirk's audiences were precisely those whose viewpoints he was trying to influence.
Grade: B+